Amoco Reuse Board, Three Crowns: We Need To Talk

In order to deal with a decade of multimillion dollar losses at the Three Crowns golf course on the former Amoco refinery property, people need to talk more.

"A key factor in a lot of this is the communication from the joint powers board to the Three Crowns committee as well as to the managing group of the golf course," said Bryce Row, chairman of the Amoco Reuse Agreement Joint Powers Board.

"Over time it appears some of that communication wasn't as good as it could have been," Row said.

Last week, the joint powers board heard from a task force formed in April to figure out why the $10 million Robert Trent Jones-designed Three Crowns, which opened in 2004, has required about $500,000 a year to break even. The course was supposed to break even after four or five years, but that never happened.

The board met with the task force in executive session, and Row said its conclusions focused on the relationships among the board; its wholly owned subsidiary Three Crowns, LLC; and the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based OB Sports that manages the course, pro shop and restaurant.

Row said the joint powers board needs more involvement with the Three Crowns, LLC, which already includes two members of the board.

The need for more communication means there's a long way to go before any specific recommendations are offered, he said.

"What we have is some questions we need to answer," Row said. "First and foremost, it's kind of more so how the golf course has always operated before we can get to any concrete steps on how to fix it."

==============================================================

The ARAJPB was created in 1998 when Amoco — now BP — signed an agreement with the city of Casper and Natrona County to oversee the development of the property. The Casper City Council and the Natrona County Commission appoint the board members.

The joint powers board does not receive any funding from the City of Casper or Natrona County.

BP pledged more than $28 million toward the goal of replacing the number of jobs lost when the refinery shut down in 1991. The board has received all that money.

Besides BP, the joint powers board receives revenue from interest income, and sales and leases of its property on the former refinery site now known as the Platte River Commons and the former tank farm now known as the Salt Creek Heights Business Center.